Thick bottom half; powerful legs; frame is mostly maxed; high effort delivery; slightly high 3/4th arm slot; terrific arm speed; rears back on delivery; very small stab; has trouble staying balanced; large amount of effort and moving parts at times; hips sometimes rotate too much; able to establish a good drive and extension; uses his bottom half well and is able to get the most out of his thick lower half; good plane; mechanics are better suited for a max effort reliever but has the stamina and body to maintain this effort as a starter; slow to home; 1.41 - 1.61 delivery times.

Evaluator

Tucker Blair

Report Date

08/08/2014

Affiliate

Carolina Mudcats (High A, Braves)

Dates Seen

8/7/2014

OFP

55

Realistic

50; Middle Reliever/7th Inning Arm

MLB ETA

2016

Video

No

Pitch Type

Present Grade

Future Grade

Sitting Velocity

Peak Velocity

Report

FB

60

60

92-95

96

Explosive pitch with good life; comes off a great plane and really sneaks up on the hitter; lacks much horizontal movement; routinely pounds both sides of the plate; loves to attack hitters inside; average command currently; changes the hitter's eye level frequently; loses some of his plane in the higher velo band; probably sees a tick in velo from a move to the bullpen.

CB

55

60

82-84

86

11-5 to 10-6 offering; more vertical in my viewing at beginning of the year; can be viewed as more of a slurve; hard tilt; can have depth at times; sometimes will snap too sharp and will spin hard without much depth; currently fringe-average command; will throw against both LHH and RHH; not afraid to throw in any count; drags arm across body at times and will snap pitch into dirt; has some release point issues but was able to fix these as game went along; plus potential and will reach that with more consistent mechanics.

CH

30

35

83-86

87

Below-average offering; lacks feel; virtually no fade or parachute action; firm and looks like a FB; velo difference is not efficient; lacks command and left up in zone way too often; I do not envision much improvement here.

Overall

This was my second time viewing Baker this season, and first time since he broke his ankle and missed nearly four months.

Baker has a lively FB and the CB has some promise. However, the CH is not effective at all currently and will likely hold him from becoming a consistent starter at higher levels. Baker has lost a ton of development time in the past year, but a team could accelerate his timeline and work him out of the bullpen. He has the arsenal to at least pitch the 7th in the bigs, with potential to pitch more impact innings down the road. The risk as a starter is high, as the CH and lost development time have really hindered his progression. As a reliever, he could move quickly through the system and could see the majors in the next year or two.